Higher Education

University of Connecticut has begun construction of a 7,150-sf Visitor's Center at its main campus in Storrs, Conn. The $1.9 million facility will accommodate campus exhibits, staff offices, meeting rooms and a catering kitchen. Architects  Flad & Associates of Stamford, Conn., and Madison, are providing architectural design and interior design. MEP engineering and structural engineering are being provided by BVH Engineers of Bloomfield, Conn. The construction manager is BB&E of Bloomfield.

Quinsigamond Community College is planning to build a 54,000-sf Learning Resource Center at its Worcester, Mass., campus that will include a 23,000-sf library, a cyber cafe, and a tutorial center. Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture and Engineering, P.C. (EYP) of Boston is designing the structure, which is scheduled to begin construction in September 2001. The Center will be wired for data and computer technologies throughout the building, and will accommodate Internet and Intranet access, with the flexibility to accommodate emerging technologies.

Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach has plans for a $2.5 million, 14,800-sf technology center and library to serve its 750 students. HMC Architects has designed the center with six computer teaching labs, several research stations, and laptop interfaces. Distance learning, with access to video-conferencing and interactive educational instruction, will be provided in one dedicated lab. The center will provide high-speed Internet connection, with sophisticated filtering software blocking inappropriate material.

General Services Administration (GSA) is planning a new $35 million, 215,000-sf facility in Washington for the Office of Student Financial Assistance, a Department of Education division. Groundbreaking is scheduled for May 2000, with occupancy anticipated by October 2001. Greenbaum & Rose of Washington is the developer for the project. The general contractor is  Centex Construction of Fairfax, Va.

National University has two buildings under construction for its campus near San Diego--a 64,400-sf classroom building and a 40,000-sf library. The San Diego firm of Reno Contracting is in charge of the project.

Georgia Institute of Technology will have a new advanced computing and information technology complex thanks to a $15 million gift from a former student at the institution.

North Carolina State University has awarded the design contract for its new $13 million Alumni Center at the institution's Centennial Campus to  Calloway Johnson Moore & West of Winston-Salem, N.C.

University of San Diego is building a $17 million multipurpose arena. The 5,000-seat, 101,000-sf arena will be named after Jenny Craig in honor of her large donation to the project. Mosher Drew Watson Ferguson of San Diego is the architect for the arena. Ninteman Construction Co. Inc. of San Diego is the builder.

University of Texas has plans for a new $19 million research building at its Health Science Center (HSC) in San Antonio. The HSC has a $131.5 million major building campaign scheduled through 2006 that will include one adult cancer research building and one building for pediatric cancer research.

City of San Jose/San Jose State University Joint Library site preparations have begun for a 475,000-sf, eight-story structure scheduled to break ground in July 2000.Completion is anticipated by 2003.The library will be jointly owned and managed by the city and the university. Project costs are estimated at $176.3 million, with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency contributing $75.3 million, and the university contributing the remaining amount.

San Jose State University's Duncan Hall, which houses the chemistry department, will be enhanced with new state-of-the-art labs for instruction and research thanks to a $500,000 grant to the chemistry department from the Los Angeles-based W.M. Keck Foundation. The new facility in Duncan Hall will be called the W.M. Keck Core Facility for Structure and Surface Analysis.

North Carolina State University, in an alliance with Lucent Technologies, is building a new 120,000-sf facility for fiber optics applications research at the university's Centennial Campus. The Lucent Building, scheduled to open in spring 2000, will house 500 employees of the Lucent Technologies Optical Networking Group.

St. Mary's College of California has begun fund-raising for a new $17 million School of Economics and Business Administration building. The three-story, 36,500-sf structure will accommodate lecture halls, classrooms, offices, conference rooms, and other gathering areas. Construction is slated to begin by summer 2002, with completion in fall 2003. Architect for the building is Ratcliff Architects of Emeryville, Calif.

APPA is in the process of putting together a manual for: "Grounds Staffing and Maintenance Guidelines."

Subject Areas that are have already been chosen to be covered in the manual are:

George Mason University is hopeful that funding for construction of a new 100,000-sf building at its Manassas campus will be approved by the Virginia General Assembly in its 2000 session. Classrooms, conference center, and a bookstore would be housed in the new  $22 million facility. Groundbreaking could begin in fall 2000, with construction requiring 18 months. Existing buildings at the campus house research and biotechnology operations.